The Mainframe
by TricksterTimeLord
Summary: "You deleted your friends?" "Of course" "How could you do that?" "Well, I don't know... I suppose I must've loved them." Psi is just your average hacker-slash-bank robber; equipped with the best Crew in the universe and ready to take on the world. However, to every good system...there has to be a virus.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey Everyone! TTL here! So this idea has been swirling in my head since I watched Time Heist and since Psi is on my 'You should so be a companion you little cutie' list, I decided to write a fic based on his life prior to the creation of Team Not Dead

Disclaimer: Lol, when would I own Doctor Who? *whispers*...Soon

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" **W** elcome to Yarixta Bank, Safe of the Galaxies Greatest. Please refrain from the following:... "

The intercom rang through the main hall of the gold and silver interior as various creatures from all walks of life made their way through the extensive space. Despite the large hall, there was little beings to occupy it, let alone many reasons for the area to be occupied. The hall was in the shape of a hexagon, with three walls being occupied by a neat row of bank tellers to assist their clients. The small hum of the small groups chatting filled the room, but the feminine and obviously automated voice of the intercom reigned supreme.

Yarixta was one of the most well known banks in that corner of the galaxy; home to the rich and the filthy rich. If you couldn't bathe in your hourly earnings, then you're probably not in this bank. The security was handpicked and deadly, made from the reptile-like inhabitants of a former military planet. The strict legion were easily recognizable with black plated armor and a bronze facial glass over their helmets; which didn't do much for their grotesque faces.

Some new members listened intently to the rules, but most didn't even give it any notice.

Including Mr Yarixta, of course.

Resembling a silver buffalo on two legs, the massive boss was making his way through the crowd to his private quarters, hands in his suit pockets and coat collar up. He stared ahead, greeting aliens in their native language as he walked. Just an ordinary day: The tellers were already hard at work, his guards in perfect sync, the smell of his morning coffee probably waiting on his table... He didn't usually report directly to work at this time of day, but he was in need for some work to be done.

He nodded at the armored guards as the furthest wall slid upwards to reveal the passage way to his office, grabbing a cup of some steaming green liquid from a tray and putting in various codes to unlock the security system-

Mr Yarixta's face turned purple, whirling around to face the two guards. "Guards."

The two guards turned in sync, a hand snapping to the top of their helmets in a salute. "Yes Mr Yarixta, sir!"

He gritted his teeth, trying to hide his fury but failing miserably. His therapist had told him that he had to calm down, something about 'harming others and possibly getting sued'. Hah! "...I am the only one who came by?"

The guards seemed to falter slightly, but kept the hands to their heads."Yes sir!"

Yarixta stormed over and picked one up by the neck, hearing a sharp intake of breath as the guard flailed in midair. He glared at the guard's helmet with ever darkening red eyes. "Are. You. Sure?"

While the one flailed in the air, taking quick and short gasps, the other stuttered out a reply. "Y-Y-Yes Mr Yarixta, sir."

The buffalo frowned, tilting his head. "Okay then. Nobody has been in this compartment of the Bank." He said brightly, whirling around with the guard still in his grip as he paced. "I'm just delusional, aren't I? An old man just telling fables eh?" He ignored the hasty replies of 'No sir!' And 'You're not sir!', adding on to his small speech. Yarixta turned back to the skittish guard, grinning brightly. His knuckles popped as he clenched his fists, hearing an audible snap. "Then tell me...Why is the code already in!" With that, the limp body was thrown onto the monitor, cracking the glass as it slid to the floor.

The screen was lit up with green lights, all unlocked and obviously breached. However, the bottom of the screen had scrambled figures; binary code running across the key pad like a vicious virus.

The Bank had been Breached, a feat that hadn't happened in centuries...

The shaking guard stared at his boss, hand resting on the gun nestled in his holster.

Mr Yarixta took a deep, shaky breath; steam visibly sliding out of his nostrils. "...What are you waiting for you scaled excuses for Guards! Get me that thief!"

That's when the sirens started.

"Just as planned" A man with black, slicked up hair smirked as the doors around the hallway shut down, putting a finger to the side of his head as he broke into a sprint."Was the Bank this stupid?"

Having set the system to scramble just 30 seconds ago, he had enough time to send a ghost virus to disable the cameras as he made his way towards the inner vaults via the air vent system. He had studied, and downloaded, many files of previously failed heists on this particular bank and thus he chose not to go towards the Boss' office. Instead, he would create the diversion there and take the more...'Gritty'...approach. Getting on all fours, he retrieved a small electrical bomb from his pocket, removing the gold plated cover and pushing inside. Pressing a button, the gold plating materialized back.

"You have 10 minutes."A female voice snarked in his head. "You're getting slow-"

"The amount of disrespect- You know what? You try crawling through this vent. I'm the one who's doing all the work!"

"...Fine, you're not slow Ferret. You're just getting plumper around the edges."

"...One more wise crack and I'm shutting you out of my system."

"...Sorry sir" The voice was anything but.

With a small huff, he carried on snaking through the vents as the circulating air blew into his face. He ignored the cobwebs of who-knows-what in his face, but gave a small whimper when he saw one curl into his hair out of the corner of his eye.

"Suck it up, your hair gel was asking for it."

"Strike two."

"Fine fine...yeesh! You do your thing...Status report?"

"My hair is a mess. The Festinds are currently 4 down in the Galactic basketball League with five minutes to go. Another planet was blown up in the Castillo Nebula and you're still a problem in my life. Oh, and I've just come over the under-vault"

"...You give me stress."

Psi smiled to himself, kicking the railing as he landed in the middle of row upon row of safes. "Don't worry Chief, you know you love me-"

"I think you should cut your conversation short, you have 6 minutes." Another voice drawled through the communication device in his ear, linked up directly to Psi's brain.

The thief brushed himself down as much as he could, pulling the offending cobwebs out of his hair before the rest of the dirt and grime. Lifting up his goggles, Psi surveyed the room with a grin. "Which one, Maurice?"

"Aisle forty-four, row fourteen, safe one thousand, two hundred and sixty five."

The room was large, about the area of an olympic pool; with row upon row of small silver safes. From his findings, Maurice had managed to pinpoint their Target's prized possessions to this location, narrowing the field down greatly. Psi shook his head, nodding at Aisle 44.

"See you on the outside"


	2. Chapter 2: Just Another Day

**A/N: Boop!**

 **Disclaimer: See Chapter one**

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The safe didn't have much, a couple rings, a necklace and other sets of jewelry littered the expanse of space. Psi overlooked them completely and instead focused on a set of statues; leonine in shape with angry expressions. The statues' bodies were curved in a grotesque and eerie way, claws extended and mouths open to show a set of sharp, crooked teeth. The only blemish on both statues had to be the cracks around the eyes which still held the gems. Psi's hand traveled over the gem encrusted eyes with interest, feeling the crevices where the valuable jewels were positioned. He knew the story behind the set of lions and he was aware of the bloody history regarding previous heist attempts relating to the statues, but he swallowed the thought away.

 _The Twin Lions of Drezt were the remaining symbols of a supposedly ancient sun, known for their 'magical' properties. They belonged to two brothers, co-kings of the mighty empire of Drezt. The Youngest was loved by all, making sure the sun's inhabitants were happy at all times. He was a valiant fighter and a hit among the nobility, making him the better king; concerned for his people. However, The Eldest was just tolerated by others because of his brother's wishes. This made him spiteful, of course, which lead to many a fight between the kings. One day, a set of jewels was found; four identical orange gems that shone brighter than Drezt itself. They were offered to the kings as their symbolic artifacts, merged onto two identical lion statues. These artifacts were made to be their kingly familiars, linked directly to the kings' souls. The statues were said to have once been made as two golden lions standing upright with noble expressions, paws positioned in front and tails wrapped around them. To be kept on display in front of their thrones, citizens would come and stare at the statues in awe; knowing they were the symbols of their kings... However, when The Youngest had to leave on a political excursion, The Eldest was solely in charge of the empire. Things slowly went in a downwards spiral as he got used to ruling alone, stirring up that demon of greed in him that slowly crept outwards. The Eldest knew his brother would be returning soon after hearing how happy the empire was becoming and thus became jealous of how he wasn't loved. The green eyed monster didn't stop there, because The Eldest decided to hatch a plan. He wasn't going to allow his brother to survive. Getting criminals out of prison, he ordered them to hunt down his brother and in return they would have all charges erased. They agreed, sabotaging The Youngest's ships to explode on their return trip while making it look like a malfunction. The empire mourned deeply for the loss of their Good King, while some protested that it was cold blooded murder and pinned it on the remaining king. The Eldest grew angrier that his people were not accepting him and thus making his familiar grow fiercer in stature...so he killed anyone opposing him. Drezt was being forced into submission, rebellions were born and innocent blood was spilled for years thanks to the immovable Dictator king who ruled with a golden fist. The once mighty sun turned into a wasteland as the civil war raged on, creating unrest in the neighbouring planets for years. After the darkest came the dawn...The Youngest, who had escaped the blast, rose from the wreckage to claim back his title and the freedom of his people. More blood was spilled as the enraged Elder brother fought to kill his brother while The Youngest strove to do the exact same. Emotions ran high inside the locked throne room, where the two familiar statues were constantly morphing into various battle poses at each other via their mystical link; eyes burning brighter than ever...and then it stopped._

 _Total annihilation of their planet._

Some say the rage of the brothers engulfed the star completely and incinerated everything, while others say it was the cursed jewels seeking vengeance on the destroyed empire. However, most Historians say the star died, with everything on it. "Spontaneous combustion" They say, much to Psi's amusement. The statues were found floating near the supposed area Drezt used to occupy(and various charred ship parts littered the area), becoming somewhat a ghost story told to thieves. Why? Well, because any museum they were in didn't stay open for long. Fires burning the place to the ground, floods destroying everything, gangs having a shoot out there in broad daylight...Museums had seen it all, which is why no one would take the statues on. One reason why Yarixta would keep such a blood soaked omen.

"You found our kitty cats?" Psi was pulled back to reality, reaching over and grabbing the two statues. He could have sworn he heard them purr. "Got them, coming out now. Chief is stationed at the rendezvous, right?" He put them into his backpack and shot out of the Vault, heading for the vents again. He didn't hear any reply on the other side, getting concerned but pushing forward. Minutes passed and Psi got more restless, since he was so used to the ongoing commentary of his team..."How's it looking out there-ACK!" He hissed, hitting his head on the vent as a burst of static raced through his brain, followed by the vent system's security powering back on.

The alarms sounded immediately.

Psi swore loudly and moved faster, turning right and kicking open a panel to jump out. He was at least two halls down from his escape route, stuck too close to Mr Yarixta's private wing. He heard voices spring back to life in his ear. "Don't just stand there! Move Ferret, Move!" Psi didn't need a second command, breaking into a sprint while bringing up a schematic of the bank in his head. Not sure if he would be seen, Psi reached into his backpack and took out a mask; simple and white. With a snap of his fingers however, it crawled over his face like a second skin and became a silvery blue. He silently sent a message via his brain. **_"They've secured my escape point, so it won't work. There's one vent that could link to the main floor's sunroof. If I can get to it, then you'll have to meet me there. I'm gonna try it-"_ ** Psi was immediately blocked by Maurice screaming into his earpiece, running through the corridors until he came to the area he was previously trying to avoid."The only access is directly through Yarixta's office! You're not serious-" The line went dead, but Psi could still hear his crew screaming. Mr Yarixta's office was large like the man himself, kept in pristine condition despite the fallen guard groaning in the corner. Psi didn't give the guard a second glance, jumping onto the large desk and taking out a laser pen. The red light cut series of lines through the ventilation shaft, making little noise to mask Psi's thudding heart. "Come on come on...Eureka!" The vent popped open. All he had to do was grab hold and scale the vent upwards, then he would be home free- That was, until he heard a bang and felt something snag his shoulder. The pain was instant, reverberating outwards from the epicenter. Grunting with pain, Psi clutched his bleeding shoulder and stood still, breathing deeply.

He didn't turn around, nor show any sign of fear when he heard the footsteps behind him; sounding louder than the alarms ringing behind him. He didn't stiffen at the deep chuckle that resonated around the room, nor the slow clap that followed.

"So this is the Rat, pleasure to meet you." Mr Yarixta sneered, standing at the doorway to his office with a gun in his grasp. "Did you really think you would make it out of here alive?! You must be one stupid thief."

Psi frowned at his words, clearing his throat loudly before turning around from his position on the desk; making sure he destroyed and stepped on everything laid upon it. "First of all:-" An ornate vase smashed to the floor, causing Psi to continue. "Thanks for the bullet wound Bullwinkle. Secondly," The hologram devices were basically danced on. "I don't think you should call me a rat, I'm way more classy. And lastly: I'm going to breach your system, take your stuff and live to see the look on your ugly face...Oh wait, that's your daily look." He gave a million watt smile under the mask, causing the Bank Owner to see red once again and charge. With that, Psi swept out a leg and sent the remaining objects at the bull's feet, making Mr Yarixta trip mid-charge. For Psi, he saw all of this is slow motion. Bracing his shoulder, Psi leapt forward to leap onto the Bull's head, using that as a springboard into the vent. Scrambling to grab a hold, Psi ignored the stinging sensation in his shoulder as he pulled himself up and out of Yarixta's reach. He heard the desk fall over with a thud, followed by a bellow of rage; causing the thief to yell in triumph.

He could already see a familiar figure at the top of the vent. With a final grunt, Psi felt the wind on his face once more and the comforting sound of The Mainframe's jet hovering above, just as he saw a figure coming down from a ladder. The last of his energy was spent on racing to the ladder and doing the last climb, looking back down at the Bank one last time before he slumped on the wall. "Told you I'll make it, Chief..." He grinned, before he felt pressure on his shoulder and hissed. Psi looked up at his leader, watching her as she worked on the wound. He knew she hated setting the jet on auto-pilot, so she must be rather concerned. Or annoyed...or both.

Crap.

The silence dragged on, making Psi rather uncomfortable. Clearing his throat, he murmured. "Zen, you have every right to be annoyed. I shouldn't have cut off comms..Or try to be a rebel." Or annoyed, or both...She was a Goddess of Rebellion after all. Zen is tall, standing 6'5, probably due to her bottom half. He could see the dark purple rosettes of her giraffe legs peak out from her jeans, before his gaze landed on the glowing runes etched onto her collar bone. Zen's eyes focused on the wound, whispering softly as she worked; magic flowing out of her fingertips. She didn't seem to have heard Psi's apology until she closed her eyes. "You got shot, Psi. You could have died out there and I wouldn't forgive myself. What were you thinking?!"She said calmly, standing up and running a hand through her dark purple hair.

Psi looked away, muttering an apology once again with the ferocity of a whimpering child. Zen looked at her friend in anger, before her eyes softened once again. Although she wouldn't admit it, she would have pulled of the equivalent of what Psi had done anyway...minus the bullet wound. However, she walked back to the pilot's seat with a sigh. Sitting down and checking the controls, she looked ahead."You are okay, right?...We'll be at HQ in about 10 minutes. I'll ask Azure to double check the wound, but you're dealing with Maurice-"Zen ignored the squeak of protest. "No way, you're so going to get pwned by his rage, and that's that." She listened with a grin as Psi tried to plead and beg, waiting until he gave the familiar sigh of defeat. Sometimes, it was good to be Chief. The silence stretched on for awhile before Psi spoke up again. Zen could hear the cheek creep back into his voice."If it makes you feel better...I called Yarixta 'Bullwinkle'."

Zen brought a hand to her mouth, stopping a laugh from erupting as she rolled her eyes. "Psi."

"Yeah Zen?"

"Bullwinkle is a moose, not an actual bull..."

She let her laughs ring through the universe as she listened to Psi swear for the rest of the trip.

Just another day.


	3. Chapter 3: Foreshadow

**A/N: Hey!**

 **Thanks to all who have faved/ followed ^^**

 **Disclaimer: See first chapter**

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Psi had fallen asleep somewhere between his last string of curses and arriving back at HQ; waking up to a bright white room and the plush fabrics of a bed under him. The continuous beeping of the medical equipment slowly seeped into his ears as his eyes adjusted to the light. A flash of colour made him smile at the ceiling; spotting a big bouquet of flowers sitting on the bedside table. Considering the way they were styled (Large, bright and surprisingly well thought out), he immediately pinned it on little Lime. As if the thought of the flowers initiated a switch, the smell of the beautiful flora reached his nostrils and in turn made Psi take a deep breath. Man, that girl really knew how to make someone feel calm. Trying to roll onto his side, Psi immediately felt the stinging strain of his shoulder and yelped; reflexively going onto his back. He could see the door open out of the corner of his eye, sighing in relief at the familiar presence. The wound will heal nicely thanks to Zen, so you won't need to stay h-here any longer. I do suggest you get a lot of rest and take a couple p-pain killers if the pain esca-escalates, and you will report to me at least three times a day until I s-say otherwise "It whispered, two long antennae flicking sideways as it spoke. With a small sigh, it added, you know, Maurice is thoroughly annoyed." A small humanoid being floated onto the bed, gloved hands going to check Psi's wound as bright eyes surveyed his face; well, whatever it could see behind the thick curls of hair, as blue as a clear summer sky. The creature's skin never seemed to stop shining; simmering like the deepest parts of space but looking as fragile as sand. Psi relaxed into the mattress, wincing as a gloved hand checked the bullet wound. "I know Azure, has he stopped by?"

When Azure was done strapping the shoulder, Psi ran his hand over the sterilized fabric. As the question came out, Psi immediately knew the answer. Even if he had been out for 20 minutes or 3 days, his best mate would have moved Hell to Heaven if Maurice had to check on him; no matter how annoyed he was. Azure rolled his eyes, or didn't?-It was hard to read him with his hair like that. You've been out for a day, but he visits every c-couple hours with Lime. If I were you, I'd go see him first." Offering a hand, Azure helped lift Psi back onto his feet before discarding the gloves and going to clean up the room. Psi sat on the bed for a while, watching the star-child at work before zoning back into reality. Azure had finished what he was doing, floating in mid-air with his arms folded; a stance of disappointment etched onto his features. Psi stared back, frowning deeply while slowly raising his eyebrow.  
The stare-off continued for some time, though neither relented as the tension got thicker.

Psi decided to strike first. "You know he's going to eat me alive.' That was parried easily by Azure. "He won't, h-he's just concerned. W-we all were." Psi snorted, "He'll show his concern after skewering my head to a stick-" Azure shrugged, musing softly. "I doubt he could find a big enough stick to accommodate your head, Psi" The silence stretched on for a couple moments before it dawned on Psi, who took a breathy laugh. "Did you just- You sassed!" He congratulated, raising his hands to give a celebratory clap only to wince at the sharp pain in his shoulder. His voice dwindled back to nothing as he stared ahead at Azure. Psi could have sworn he saw a smile tug at the being's lip-area. Azure let his feet touch the ground, walking slowly towards Psi and proceeding to crane his head upwards; just to stay within eye-contact. His hair that gave him his name fell out of his face, leaving the bright eyes to soften into a pleading gaze. "D-despite the threats he's given you, he truly just wants to know you're okay Psi. So please, just go see him. For me?" Azure's eyes widened with every word, pouting deeply. Psi looked down and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.  
He reached for his jacket and gingerly put it back on, nodding solemnly. "I guess I should go see him...Thank you Azure" Azure's eyes lit up with joy, quickly going to the door and fumbling with the key-pad. A part of the wall disappeared with a flicker, allowing Psi to venture onto the main corridor. The star-child looked down as Psi passed, only looking back up when he felt someone bend down to give him a hug. Azure couldn't help but chuckle softly, returning it and then gently pushing Psi away. "Anytime, now go make sure He's okay..."  
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Mainframe HQ is a network of corridors and rooms, all linking or intersecting in some way or another. Besides the main corridors, there are various known and relatively unknown ways to get from one place to another. The crew may be small based on various other universal heist teams, but they got along well enough to be a close knit squadron. Psi decided to use the main corridors this time, not wanting to strain his shoulder on climbing through his ferret holes or other forms of networked systems. Two streaks of starry pink and green respectively caught his attention from the glass transportation tubes traversing above him, stopping to smile at the two remaining star-children. He managed to hear Lime's voice echoing in the distance, followed by a jeer from Salmon, but couldn't decipher the words. "Probably testing out the new courses." He mused, before veering into another expanse of corridors until he stopped at a red door. Psi's hand went to knock on the door, but was halted by a voice. "Come in Psi."

Crap. The door opened by itself, causing Psi to step into the room. Here we go.

It wasn't really a 'bedroom' so to speak, considering the fact that there was no bed anywhere. In fact, it looked more like a control centre or an aviary instead a bedroom. The silvers and blacks were accented by the red lighting, mostly coming from the various holograms shining from the central piece of furniture: a control panel of sorts. Hanging from the high ceiling, several metallic pods varying in size faced the swirling holograms and swung slowly like a rocking horse. Between those, perches and other overhanging things swung slowly. The floor was littered with gadgets and gizmos; some unfinished, some resembling bombs and weapons of mass destruction. If one was to stumble in here, it would probably be mistaken for a futuristic dungeon and get their being as far as possible. For Maurice, however, it was home.  
To top it all off, classical music was filtering through unseen speakers.

Psi cleared his throat, eyes focusing on the pod nearest to the control panel. The closed part was facing him, but he knew that Maurice was inside. "Hi...Okay-I know you're mad, but I had to shut you out." He started, just as the pod seemed to shift. Psi continued. "You don't have to talk to me. Heck, you can shun me forever- but I'm sorry Maurice. I was an idiot, yes, a big idiot who doesn't listen to the voices in his head." He closed his eyes and carried on talking. "But I got the statues that we said we'd get- I know you hate failed heists- so that should be fine, right? I shouldn't have been so reckless, impulsive and a prick-"  
There was a flutter from afar, making Psi open his eyes to see a figure staring back at him from a nearby pod; crimson eyes helping him make out the silhouette. A long period of silence followed, before something cleared its throat. "...You can say that again. Now shut your mouth, kid. I forgave you after the third time I visited." Maurice hopped onto the floor, crouching down to walk forward into the light, before deciding otherwise and flying back to the centre controls and settling back into the main pod. Psi shook his head with a chuckle and followed. "Thanks Chiropetra-"

The large ears of the crew's resident bat flicked in annoyance. "What did I say about calling me that!" Maurice Chiropetra was indeed a bat, in most of the word; but being a victim of evolution, he couldn't be classified in that order anymore despite his given surname. Though he had his domestic-cat size, Maurice had the basics of his bat brethren: The membranous wings, the large ears. However, his fur (being grey in colour) was slightly shaggier; spreading down into a tail like appendage. Contrary to all those figurative expressions relating to bats, His eyesight was perfect, with crimson eyes fighting off a bat's normal glazed eye. Maurice lifted a wing to swipe a hologram closer: revealing the two flickering statues of Drezt without a word. Getting the gist of it, Psi waited patiently for Maurice to start talking. "So...what have you got?" Maurice frowned, clearing his throat while he wrapped his wings around him. "Well, we're lucky we got those statues when we did; that's for sure. Apparently we aren't the only crew who is brave enough to go for them-" Psi wrinkled his nose in disdain, already feeling the pressure. If another crew was gunning for the same mark, then The Mainframe is obviously on their radar after they lost. "Do you know who they are?" He asked, mind already wandering to scan any potential threats in the world of thieves. The Augmented Human knew that this business was cut-throat, 'Survival-of-the-sneakiest' as Zenmaka put it. He was so immersed in his own thoughts that he didn't hear what Maurice said. "I told Zen- well, she demanded I show her- and she almost flipped out at the message. Psi? Are you listening?! You know what-"  
Thwack!  
Psi yelped in shock, rubbing his shoulder. "Hey! That's my injured shoulder!" He spat, only to simmer down at Maurice's frantic apologizes. The bat really did care...  
Maurice calmed down, before giving Psi a pointed look. "I know who did it, but I didn't find them so to speak..." With that, a hologram covered the others; a picture of a scroll glowing red with words. Psi quickly read through the letter in unmasked shock, gripping the edge of the pod. Maurice nudged Psi in concern, frowning deeply while he tried to figure out his friend's thoughts as he continued. "I didn't find them...They found us. Psi, we've got Hierarchy on our tail."  
Psi stared at the rotating crown, Hierarchy's signature, and let out a deep breath. Why in hell would one of the top crews in the universe wage something with them?! "Call a crew meeting. Things just got real."

Footsteps echoed throughout Maurice's room, causing Psi to turn and spot Zenmaka leaning on the door frame. Behind her, the Star-child trio were craning into the room with various emotions. The Goddess stepped in and nodded at Psi, walking past them and towards the hologram. "No need to call it. Fellas, we got work to do."


End file.
